Nanogel/Microgel Science and Beyond

Since the first report in 1986, tremendous effort hasbeen devotedto developing a deeper understanding of hydrogel colloidal particles(i.e., nanogels/microgels), including their synthesis, characterization,assembly, computer simulation, and various applications. At present,many researchers from diverse scientific backgrounds are using nanogels/microgelsfor their own research purposes, and thus, there seem to be severalmiscommunications. Here, in order to further accelerate the developmentof the nanogel/microgel research field, a personal viewpoint on thisresearch topic is presented.